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Product Description

Sir Ben Kingsley stars as Mohandas Gandhi in Lord Richard Attenborough's riveting biography of the man who rose from simple lawyer to worldwide symbol of peace and understanding. A critical masterpiece, GANDHI is an intriguing story about activism, politics, religious tolerance and freedom. But at the center of it all is an extraordinary man who fought for a nonviolent, peaceful existence, and set an entire nation free. Winner of 8 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director (Richard Attenborough) and Best Actor (Sir Ben Kingsley), GANDHI's highly acclaimed cast also includes Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, Sir John Gielgud, Roshan Seth and Martin Sheen.

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Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 multiple-Oscar winner (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley) is an engrossing, reverential look at the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who introduced the doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the nation its independence. Kingsley is magnificent as Gandhi as he changes over the course of the three-hour film from an insignificant lawyer to an international leader and symbol. Strong on history (the historic division between India and Pakistan, still a huge problem today, can be seen in its formative stages here) as well as character and ideas, this is a fine film. --Tom Keogh

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This is an incredible portrait of an incredible man performed incredibly by Ben Kingsley. He takes on Gandhi's character so thoroughly that I felt I was watching old newsreels (in color of course) of the man himself. Britain's departure from India and her assumption of democracy came about for many reasons, but Gandhi's influence and guidance and his ability to connect with the common people of India played a huge role. Ben Kingsley portrayed this process impeccably, highlighting Gandhi's openness, compassion, shrewdness and unique understanding of peaceful non-violent confrontation. Also obvious were the power plays by different characters which led to the formation of Pakistan. Thirty years of Gandhi's life compressed into three hours seems improbable, but just the right level of detail of his actions and insights along the way gave a coherent picture of his and his country's evolution into the man who sadly gave his life for the country of India which we know today. Great soul indeed!

The film Gandhi tells not only the story of Gandhi but the painful history of India. Through Gandhi’s life he spread love and peace through Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. What I took away from Gandhi and his teachings is the idea of peace and love. He said multiple times in the film that he is a Muslim, a Hindu, and a Christian. I think it is truly amazing how he lived his life encompassing the Hindu teachings and actively standing for his beliefs through peace. He lead India through incredible hardships and influenced the world through peace. Another thing that impacted me was how the people called him called him Papu (father) showing the familiarity, love, and respect the people had for him.

I was in the video movie business for years.I've seen all the movies that were in the stores and them some.Plus we use to get free screeners from the studios, for the most part I just can't watch B & C movies.Needless to say I got burned out on movies except for some that are exceptional.Gandhi is one that I can watch over and over and never get tired of.For me its got everything I look for in a film, history, great acting, and a great story.I've been streaming this for years on a couple of video streaming on demand sites.Its not always included in the free stream libraries so I broke down and bought a new copy.That and I disconnected from all my video streaming stores (again).Its funny because I must have handled 100's of these in VHS but never kept one.IMO no home video collection is complete with out this movieThe old VSDA slogan (Watch what you want when you want) still rings true....

This was a really moving picture about how one man could change the lives of millions through the power of loving will. It does a great job of showing poverty, oppression, and passion without going over the top. It lets the story tell itself.

As others have pointed out, Kingsley is a marvel. He channels Gandhi.

The locations are the other star of the show. This movie could not have been done anywhere else. It makes the stories come alive.

At three hours, it's already super long, but what I would have liked better was to see that Gandhi was not born a god. He was a flawed man who grew into his beliefs. I think that would have painted a stronger message that any man can change the world, but the movie still has a great impact without that.

I like the movie, but my wife was simply bored to tears. My daughter is a follower of Gandhi and other people of enlightenment. In most cases, Gandhi was more Christ-like in his teachings. I am not saying Gandhi was Christ. I am saying that his take on life was similar to Christ. No, I am not a Bible scholar or even that religious, but I have read the Bible several times without prejudice. In other words not coming from it from a particular religious background.

superb movie, great performances, sets, directing, true to real world story, Cinematography is stunning. India is the pivotal country of this century with over a billion people, and this story shows the great history of this country, including the enormous impact of the Muslim separation from the sub continent and the early beliefs that would lead us to where we are in the 21st century. Marvelous performances, especially by Ben Kingsley as Gandhi, so rich and informative, and entertaining.

Good historical movie. I heard alot of positive about this movie growing up and I'm glad I finally got a chance to see it. It gave a good summary of Gandhi's life and struggles. The costumes and sets were well made. It gave me a good understanding about the independence of India and Pakistan. Gave me a good understanding about the religious conflicts between Hindus and Muslims in that part of the world. Ben Kingsley did a superb job of playing Gandhi, almost to perfection. A few parts were slow, but overall I enjoyed the movie.

NB: Some other reviews seem to be about a book, not the film 'Ghandi' - not sure where the mix up is...

If only the film was a little deeper, a little more complex, it could have been an all time great epic. As it is, it comes close.

The pluses; the power of the story and the history, and Ben Kingsley's amazing performance, which, somehow, like Gandhi himself, is both modest and incredibly powerful.

The minuses; many of the supporting characters are underdeveloped, sometimes to the point of caricature. Most of the `villains' (the British, the leader of the Muslim separatist movement) are presented as one dimensional cartoons that Gandhi himself probably would have disapproved of as lacking compassion and understanding.

Also, there's a feeling, despite it's 3+hour length, that we really never get to know Gandhi as a human being, not just a "great, historic figure".

The best moments in the film are his moments of self-doubt and questioning, as well as his complex family life, but those are few and far between.

Still, an epic telling of one of the most important, influential and inspiring people of the last 500 years, and well worth seeing.